Centrifugal-pump system



(No Model.)- I 2 sheets-sheet 1.

I.. P. LAMBING.

GENTRIPUG'AL PUMP SYSTEM.

No. 367,918. Patented Aug. 9, 1887;

ullglwlll il F (No Mode1,) 2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

41. P. LAMBING. 8 GENTRIFUGA'L PUMP SYSTEM.

No. 887,818. Patented Aug. 8, 1887.

- tion of the same.

UNITED `STATES PATENT lOFFICEo IsAAc P. LAMBING, oF IoNE, CALIFORNIA.

CENTmFUeAL-PUMP SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION formingfpart of Letters Patent No. 367,918, date-d August 9, 1887,

Application filed O. tober 30. ISPG.

To all whom it may concern:

, Beit known that I, IsAAol?. LAMEING, of Ione, Amador county, State of Californiahave invented an Improvement in Centrifugal- Iump Systems; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip- My invention relates t0 the class of centrifugal pumps so arranged in a vertical series as to present a practical system; and my invention consists in the construction and combination of-4 devices which I shallehereinal'ter fully describe and claim.

The object of my invention is to provide a system of centrifugal pumps whereby water may be raised lto any height, either from the bottom of a deep well or the shaft of a mine,or may be elevated to the top of a suitable tower, forming part of a system of city or town water-works, from which it may be distributed. I am enabled to arrange this system with a vertical series of pumps by the employment of the peculiar and novel shaft-bearing which was patented by me August 17, 1886, numbered 347,431, and to which I shall here inafter refer. The system is also mademore practicable by reason of the various other improvements, to be hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of myinvention, Figure 1 is an elevation of my pump system. Fig. 2 is a plan of same. Fig. 3 is avertical section through one ofthe tanks and pumps.

A is the shaft of a mine or a deep well. In the bottom is located a tank, a, asecond tank, a', being located above, and a third, a2, still farther up, and as many more as may be desired in the vertical series. In. 'each tank is a centrifugal pump, B, consisting of a casing or shell, b, and a driver or piston, b'.

C is the central shaft by which all the pumps are operated. It passes down through all the tanks to the bottom of the shaft or well, and the driver of yeach pump is keyed to it. The pumps are ofthe ordinary construction generally, but differ therefrom in having two oppositely-located discharges, D, the pipes d from which unite above at d in the common and single discharge-pipe d, which extends from each pump to the tank next above, and is adapted to discharge its contents therein.

Serial No. 5117.63-1. (No model.)

`Theobject of the oppositely-arranged double discharge is to relieve the shaft C of the side strain and consequent wear to which it and its box are subjected when but a single discharge is used. rlhe pumps are all operated simultaneously by suitable power applied to the central shaft, C, but which is herein not necessary to show. The central orV driving shaft of a centrifugal pump is always mounted in a step at the bottom, and so much friction is engendered in this step that it has to be renewed very frequently, as the shaft has a tendency to set or weld in it and stop the operation. It' this is the case with a single pump,it

will be seen how impracticable it would be to arrange in a similar manner a-vertical series of pumps, as the friction would be so great in any ordinary bearing or step as to prevent their operation; but with the bearing which I shall now describe, and which I have heretofore patented, this diicnlty'is entirely overcome, and Iam enabled toarrange and to practically operate the vertical series of centrifugal pumps.

Upon the central shaft, C, at Vany 'suitable points and in any suitable number, I mount a collar or tappet, E, which maybe moved up and down on the shaft,but which is fixed in any desired place by set-screws e. F are anti-friction wheels mountedl on the shafts f. There are` two of these wheels in each set, and the shaft passes down between them.

In arranging for the mounting of the system I raise the shaft C, so that it does not rest in the step below, and I then move down' each collaror tappeton said shaft until it rests upon the tops of the anti-friction wheels, and in this position I firmly fix it by the set-screws, so that the shaft and all the pump drivers keyed thereto are sustained upon the sets of anti-friction wheels. These bearings reduce the friction to a minimum and avoid the frequent replacement of a step below, as would otherwise be necessary. The rotation of the shaftis not impeded in any way, as its collars or tappets turn the loosely-playing anti-friction wheels. In order to steady the shaft C,I have the anti-friction wheels G. These are mounted in brackets g, which are adapted to slide in bearings g,tirmly fixed to the top of each pump-easing b. The brackets are adj usted by means of `screws g2, and are fixed by means of bolts g3 IOO ' shaft on all sides and steady it.

passing through slots g, whereby the wheels may be set up. These wheels bear upon the The location of the wheels G upon the pump-casings is essential, from the fact that the shaft C needs steadying more in the vicinity of the pumpdrivers than anywhere else, for the strain is the greater at those points.

As will be seen in Fig. 3, the casing 7) ofthe pump is bolted on timbers a in each tank, and itsdriver or piston has a hollow hub, b, which proj ects downwardly through the easing to near the bottom of the tank. This construction of the hub, projecting downwardly, as described, avoids the necessity of submerging the entire pump in the water of the tank, so that it can be readily reached for the adjustment, if necessary, of the various parts cou nected therewith.

In order to provide against leakage where the shaft C passes through the tanks, I secure to the bottom of the tank a tubular piece, I-I, the uppereud of whieh'terminates just a little short of the bottom of the driver of the pump.

rlhe hollow hub b2 of the driver is preferably forined by concentric tubular pieces, the inner one of which is provided on its inner side with a spiral flange, I, which projects toward the tubular piece H. The direction of this fiange is such that iu rotating` it forces downwardly the water upon which it acts. It will now be seen that as the driver rotates,the water which would otherwise rise above the level of the tubular piece II, and so get into the shaft-journal,is kept down and forced outwardly by the spiral flange, thereby preventing leakage around the shaft.

In operation the water is sucked from the bottom of the tank through the hollow hub b into the easing ofthe pump, where it is operated on by the driver or piston, and is forced through the oppositely -located discharges. The employment of centrifugal pumps in a system of this character is advantageous in that a very large amount of work may be derived from comparatively small pumps run ning at a high rate of speed and with coinparatively small cost.

In deep mines, where ordinary pumps are employed, drawing from tanks at different levels, the pumps are very large and operate at a very slow speed; but with my system the small but powerful centrifugal pumps can be employed, and on account of material reduction in the friction may be operated at a high rate of speed, thereby giving goed results.

Although I have described a tank, a, in the bottom of the well, it is obvious that the lowermost pump of the series may, instead of being located in a tank at` that point, bc supported on timbers placed directly in the bottom. n

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In acentrifugal-pump system, the tank, the pump, and the shaft by which the pump is driven, in combination with the means for preventing leakage where the shaft passesv through the tank, consisting of the tubular piece H, secured in the bottom of the tank and surrounding the shaft, the ,downwardlyextending hub ofthe driver of the pump, and the spiral flange on said hub within the space between it and the tubular piece, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ISAAC I). LAMBING. YVitnesses:

C. D. CoLn, J. I-I. BLOOD. 

